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Saturday, October 15, 2005

There are four primary polyphenols in green tea and they are often collectively referred to as catechins.

Powerful antioxidants, catechins have been shown in recent studies to fight viruses, slow aging, and have a beneficial effect on health. Clinical tests have shown that catechins destroy free radicals and have far-reaching positive effects on the entire body.

Free radicals are highly reactive molecules and fragments of molecules that can damage the body at the cellular level leaving the body susceptible to cancer, heart disease, and many other degenerative diseases.

EGCG is a potent antioxidant.

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), an antioxidant found in green tea, is at least 100 more times more effective than vitamin C and 25 times more effective than vitamin E at protecting cells and DNA from damage believed to be linked to cancer, heart disease and other serious illnesses. This antioxidant has twice the benefits of resveratrol, found in red wine.

Green tea contains high concentrations of catechin polyphenols. These compounds work with other chemicals to intensify levels of fat oxidation and thermogenesis, where heat is created in the body by burning fuels such as fat. Drinking Japanese green tea regularly will increase your metabolism and help burn fat safely and naturally.

Green tea can lower cholesterol and increase energy expenditure

Green tea also causes carbohydrates to be released slowly, preventing sharp increases in blood-insulin levels. This promotes the burning of fat.

Drinking green tea can facilitate weight loss by effecting glucoseWeight is gained as excess sugars and fats are stored in the body as fat cells. Green tea catechins can help prevent obesity by inhibiting the movement of glucose in fat cells. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) has been found to be especially effective. There is now good evidence that green tea catechins are related to reductions in body fat.

EGCG is a powerful antioxidant with positive qualities but a balanced diet and exercise, lots of it, are of paramount importance to any weight reduction program.

The answer is "catechins"! Catechins are green tea's main ingredient containing eight times more than black tea. Catechins are, by the way, the one responsible for green tea's amazing health benefits.

Bottom line is that the more catechins a tea has, the better it is for your general health.

Unfortunately, these catechins are mostly oxidized into theaflavins and thearubigens during the manufacture of black tea.

Theaflavins and thearubigens do have some of their own health benefits, but they can’t compare with the wide-ranging effects of green tea’s catechins, particularly the powerful EGCG.

While a cup of black tea contains about 5- 10 mg of the powerful catechin EGCG, a cup of green tea contains more than eight times than amount, or 40-90 mg.

Although green and black teas came from the same plant - Camellia Sinensis, what makes them different from each other in terms of taste and health benefits is the processing method.

When making green tea, processors lightly steam or gently heat the leaves to stop the oxidation process. This processing is so minimal that green tea can be consumed the same leaves are picked.

On the other hand, tea leaves designed to become black tea are allowed to oxidize and undergo considerably more processing, including a fermentation process that produces the dark-brown and even reddish color of black tea.

But the process used to make a black tea destroys compounds called polyphenols. It is the polyphenols that are responsible for the long list of health benefits of green tea.

Despite its stronger color and flavor, black tea cannot come close to green tea as far as health benefits are concerned.

Because green tea’s processing is as little as possible, green tea retains its original polyphenols.